Yen Rises After BoJ Governor Ueda Comments

The Japanese yen strengthened against other major currencies in the late Asian session on Thursday, after the Bank of Japan (BoJ) indicated that the bank is prepared to raise rates once more, if the economy and prices move in line with its forecast.

Speaking at the Paris Europlace Financial Forum in Tokyo, BoJ Governor Kazuo Ueda said the central bank will reach a decision "meeting by meeting" on the basis of information that becomes available.

"There's still a month to go" until the BOJ's next meeting in December, Ueda said. "Vast amount of data and information will become available between now and then," he said.

Markets now sees the possibility of a rate hike next month. Today's comments came after those made on Monday that highlighted Japan's efforts in achieving wages-driven inflation.

Moreover, traders remain cautious and are reluctant to make more significant moves as they kept an eye on the escalating tensions between Ukraine and Russia. The People's Bank of China holding rates steady and the uncertainty about the U.S. Fed's interest rate moves also rendered the mood cautious.

In the Asian trading today, the yen rose to 2-day highs of 162.86 against the euro, 195.44 against the pound, 175.03 against the Swiss franc and 90.65 against the NZ dollar, from early lows of 163.78, 196.56, 175.81 and 91.33, respectively. The yen may test resistance around 161.00 against the euro, 193.00 against the pound, 173.00 against the franc and 89.00 against the kiwi.

Against the U.S., the Australia and the Canadian dollars, the yen edged up to 154.56, 100.66 and 110.67 from early lows of 155.30, 101.14 and 111.19, respectively. If the yen extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around 153.00 against the greenback, 99.00 against the aussie and 109.00 against the loonie.

Looking ahead, the Confederation of British Industry is slated to release Industrial Trends survey results for November at 6:00 am ET in the European session. The order book balance is forecast to rise to -25 percent from -27 percent in October.

In the New York session, Canada PPI and raw materials price index, both for October, U.S. weekly jobless claims data, Eurozone flash consumer confidence for November, U.S. existing home sales data and U.S. Consumer Board's leading index, both for October, are slated for release.